This call aims at fostering research on climate, environmental and related societal change in mountain regions, considering both new measurements, recovery of existing data, and the development and use of integrated modelling strategies by adopting a strong trans- and inter-disciplinary approach.

The announcement for the researchers from State of São Paulo is published at FAPESP website at www.fapesp.br/belmontforum. Applicants are advised to contact their National Contact Point before starting to prepare proposals for application.

3.1. Depending on all conditions of eligibility and peer review being met, the budget earmarked by FAPESP for this Call will be equivalent of up to 1M€ (one million euros).

3.2. This call for proposals encourages the formation of new international networks for 18 to 36 months, beginning in 2016 to be selected with a two-stage procedure (Pre-Proposal stage followed by a Full Proposal stage for the projects that successfully go through the previous stage).

3.3. Funding should support proposals that combine significant contributions by scientists from at least three of the participating countries and will involve co-equal input from natural and social scientists.

3.4. It is expected that applications to this call will be Collaborative Research Grants with the consortium composition as defined in the call document and FAPESP will fund the partner from the State of São Paulo, Brazil, of any successful trans-national collaborative proposal.

4. Scientific Research Themes

The five main themes that characterize this “Mountains as Sentinels of Change” collaborative action are: “Drivers of change”, “ Ecosystems and Biodiversity”, “Water”, “Hazards, Vulnerability and Risks”, “Adaptation and Resilience”. For detailed descriptions, please consult the call main page at: http://igfagcr.org/cra-2015-mountains-as-sentinels-of-change

5. Dates

Closing Date for Submission of Pre-Proposals

1st June 2015, 11:59 PM UTC

Opening Date for Full-Proposal Submission

3rd August 2015

Closing Date for Submission of Full Proposals

30th October 2015, 11:59 PM UTC

Starting date of the projects

After March 2016

6. General Guidelines for Researchers from the State of São Paulo, Brazil:

6.1. FAPESP will fund only the State of São Paulo (Brazil) partner of any successful trans-national collaborative proposal.

6.3. Proposals will be processed by FAPESP as Regular Research Grants (www.fapesp.br/137) for up to 24 months or as a Thematic Project Research Grants (www.fapesp.br/176) for up to 36 months, upon discretion of the proponent.

Regular Research Grants aim to support individual projects led by researchers who hold a doctorate or its equivalent, whist Thematic Projects aim to support research proposals with bolder objectives through a research team coordinated by an experienced researcher in the field and having the potential to result in significant findings for the advancement of knowledge.

6.4. Please note that for Thematic Project Grants there is a qualification phase (“enquadramento”) upon submission and researchers interested in this scheme are encouraged to consult FAPESP before initiating the preparation of a joint Pre-Proposal.

6.5. All other rules and conditions (such as proponent eligibility checks, duration, allowable expenses, overheads, etc.) for the Regular Research Grant or the Thematic Project Grant will apply, except as mentioned in these guidelines.

6.6. After the submission phase of the Full Proposals, the Principal Investigator from the state of São Paulo of a project consortium will be individually contacted for further instructions on how to submit the due documentation to FAPESP, accordingly to the funding scheme chosen.

6.7. A provisional funding request must be included in the budget plan so that all partners involved in a particular successful project are able to participate in one mid-project meeting and one end-of-project synthesis conference held back-to-back with scientifically relevant international conferences or events.

6.8. FAPESP has the ultimate responsibility for decisions regarding funding recommendations for the selected proposals, which will confirm any budgetary constraints on submitted projects prior to a final decision on an award being made by the review process as described by the Call for Proposals on BELMONT FORUM official web site.